Check a New South Wales medico-legal referral before it is booked
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- RedLawyer-led
- How AI is used
- Turn the proposed specialty, the questions and the source material into a checklist. Do not choose the expert, write the questions, or book the appointment.
- What the lawyer must review
- Choose the expert and the questions yourself
- For a CTP medical matter, use a treating practitioner, a joint assessment, or the SIRA register
- Draw PIC4 and PIC13 to the expert before the report is prepared
- Do not book until authority to give evidence is confirmed
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. New South Wales CTP scheme or the Personal Injury Commission
Produce. A checklist the lawyer uses before the referral is sent.
Have ready. Proposed specialty and questions; Whether the matter is CTP, workers compensation, or a court claim; The current SIRA register, if the matter is a CTP medical matter.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: A CTP impairment opinion is proposed from a specialist who is not the treating practitioner, not agreed, and not on the register. The checklist marks that the referral cannot be booked until the lawyer changes the expert.
Stop and hand it back when
- The tool has named the expert or rewritten the questions.
- A CTP medical matter is about to be booked without one of the three authorisation paths.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Supporting preparation only. Turn the proposed specialty, the questions and the source material into a checklist. Do not choose the expert, write the questions, or book the appointment. The tool writes nothing into the document. Substantive advice, judgement and any restricted content remain with the responsible human. |
| Lawyer | Perform the substantive analysis and decisions. Independently check any permitted supporting work and approve the exact output for its intended use. |
Checklist
- SIRA says a health practitioner gives evidence in a CTP medical matter in one of three ways: as the treating practitioner, by agreement for a joint assessment where the injured person is legally represented, or by SIRA appointment to the register.
- SIRA lists medical matters as including permanent impairment, whether treatment is reasonable and necessary, treatment after 52 weeks, threshold injury, and impaired earning capacity.
- PIC4, amended 1 January 2026, requires the report to acknowledge PIC4 and PIC13. If generative AI is used in the report, the disclosure in PIC4 paragraph 10 is required. If it is not used, the report says so.
- PIC13 paragraphs 22 to 26 require disclosure of generative AI in an expert report and require the letter of instruction to draw PIC13 and PIC4 to the expert's attention.
Forms and precedents for this task
| Form or precedent | Kind | AI use | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter of instruction to an orthopaedic surgeon | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking an orthopaedic surgeon for diagnosis, causation, capacity and prognosis in a plaintiff claim, with the expert code and artificial intelligence rule for Victoria, Queensland or New South Wales. |
| Letter of instruction to a psychiatrist | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a psychiatrist for diagnosis, causation, treatment and capacity in a plaintiff claim, and for a clinical view on recognised psychiatric illness, without asking for the legal test. |
| Letter of instruction to an occupational therapist on care | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking an occupational therapist to record care hours, duration, paid and gratuitous help, aids and equipment, without applying a damages threshold or valuing the claim. |
| Letter of instruction to a forensic accountant | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a forensic accountant to calculate past and future loss of earning capacity on stated assumptions, with the discount rate, percentage and superannuation rate left for the lawyer. |
| Letter of instruction to an engineer | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking an engineer for the condition, the mechanism and the available precautions in a plaintiff claim, with the precautions section named by the lawyer and no conclusion on negligence. |
| Psychiatrist's instructions on a recognised psychiatric illness | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a psychiatrist whether there is a recognised psychiatric illness for a mental harm claim, without asking the psychiatrist to apply the statutory tests. |
| Letter of instruction to a vocational assessor | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a vocational assessor for realistic occupations, hours and sourced earnings, without a diagnosis, an impairment score or a valuation. |
| Questions for a treating doctor | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter asking a treating doctor for the dates, recorded diagnosis, treatment and certificates, with a separate opinion section that is sent only if the expert code is enclosed. |
| Magistrates' Court WorkCover referral to a Medical Panel: completion guide | Form | AI use Red | Link to the Magistrates' Court form parties or their practitioners complete and submit with an application to refer a WorkCover matter to a Medical Panel. |
| County Court notice of intention to refer a medical question to a Medical Panel: guide | Form | AI use Red | Guide to the County Court notice of intention to refer a medical question to a Medical Panel in a serious injury application for a work injury, from the Common Law Division Practice Note of 9 February 2026. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.
Sources
- SIRA: Health practitioners authorised to give evidence · 2026-10-23
- Personal Injury Commission: Procedural Direction PIC4 · 2026-10-23
- Personal Injury Commission: Procedural Direction PIC13 · 2026-10-23
The SIRA authorisation page opened on 23 October 2026 is about the CTP scheme. Do not treat that register as the test for a workers compensation medical assessment.
In the Supreme Court, Practice Note SC Gen 23 paragraph 20 requires leave before generative AI is used to draft an expert report, with a different path for some reports under paragraph 23.